you can make yourself happier

You have a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for as long as you live. How you take care of it - or fail to take care of it - can make an enormous difference to the quality of your life.

You learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time, informal school called Life. Each day, you will be presented with opportunities to learn what you need to know. The lessons presented are often completely different from those you think you need.

There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error and experimentation. You can learn as much from failure as you can from success. I know you have heard this many times, and that's because it is true.

A lesson is repeated until it is learned. Each lesson is presented to you in various forms until you have learned it.

Learning lessons does not end. There is no stage of life that does not contain some lessons. As long as you live there will be something more to learn.

Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. When tempted to criticize others, ask yourself why you feel so strongly.

What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you create with those tools and resources is up to you.

The answers lie inside of you. The answer to life’s eternal questions lie within your grasp. All you need to do is ask, look, listen and receive.

You can be the finest apple in the world – ripe, juicy, sweet, and succulent –
and offer yourself to all,
but there will be people who do not like apples.

If you are the world’s finest apple, and someone you love does not like apples,
you still have the choice of becoming a banana, but be warned:
if you choose to become a banana, you will be a second rate banana.

You must also realize that if you choose to be a second rate banana,
there will be people who do not like bananas,
so you can spend your life trying to be the best banana
– which is impossible if you are an apple –
or you can seek again to be the finest apple.

You certainly don't see them on TV, and even if you were to, it wouldn't help much: you’ve got to meet them to understand what they are about.

I met the first one when I was 20. Before that time, I never knew that someone could be so deeply content about himself, so powerfully active in the world, and yet thoroughly enjoying each and every moment of his life.

Who was this happiness superhero? Neither a lottery winner, nor the product of genetic engineering! He was a normal person, like you and I, who had learned some pretty important lessons. Simple stuff, superficially, but enormously potent when you deeply believe it...
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You are dancing the night away. A genuine smile illuminates your face: ‘I am so happy! If only this night could last forever...’ Well, that night must end, but the positive feeling you have felt can last for an entire lifetime. You just need to make happiness a priority. Here. Now. Your happiness is more important than being successful. Your happiness is more important than being good. Put your true happiness first, and then everything else will follow.

Now back to the recipe, I have rambled on for too long! My 9 words recipe for an happier life is… Read more >>

Doing good, feeling good about it, and avoid spending time and money in the process? Random acts of kindness are the logical answer. Being nice is cheap, makes you feel good quickly, has no ill effects, and you can do it anytime you like!

Last Tuesday I was flying on a very small and noisy airplane to Tunisia: the young pilot seemed utterly unprepared to deliver us safely to our destination. I was feeling pretty gloomy, but all was not lost. A gracious hostess handled the situation with professionalism and a smile. Her presence seemed to make the plane bigger, the pilot calmer, and the weather sunnier. I simply told her what a difference she had made to my journey, and I wrote a clear account of the ways in which she had proven her professionalism in a feedback form. On my way out from the airplane I saw her beaming with joy: she briefly thanked me saying that my feedback might help her getting the promotion she had long awaited.

Random Acts of Kindness week starts on the 13th of February: if you want a few suggestions on how to feel good quickly and for free, check out www.ActsOfKindness.org